Live: Europe scene still unclear, Indian shares wobble

3.30 p.m: Alacklustre European market and rollover of existing open position in the derivative market have caused Indian markets to move sideways.

The Sensex closed the day 78 points lower than the previous day at 16,446 while the Nifty was down by 24 points at 4,947.

Among the sectors that did well were IT and FMCG. IT stocks traded higher on account of a strong set of numbers from Accenture, raising hopes of a similar show from other Indian IT companies. Capital goods index was down by nearly 2 percent and metal stocks were trading lower by over 1 percent.

BP CEO went on record saying he expects Reliance Industries to increase gas production from 2014. The stock failed to react to the news and in fact closed lower at Rs 795.90, down marginally over previous days’ close.

Kingfisher Airlines announced that it will be getting out of the low-cost airline business by trying to sell its business in Kingfisher Red. The stock though reacted positively to the announcement, but closed 2 percent lower over previous day’s close at Rs 24.60.

PG Electoplast, a company which got listed on the bourses on Tuesday, hit a high of Rs 537 during the day, but closed nearly 30 percent lower than this high at Rs 386.60.

The European and commodity markets continue to move sideways. Markets are waiting for German Parliament to vote on a rescue package to Greece.

1.30 p.m: European markets are retesting their intra-day low, leading to a fall in Indian markets. Sensex currently trades at 16,402, down 121 points, which is lower than its close on Tuesday, while Nifty is weaker by 44 points at 4,929.

BP CEO expects output from Reliance Industries gas block to go up from 2014. The company is waiting for clearances for drilling satellite wells.

Gold and silver prices are up marginally while crude oil is down 0.5 percent and the rupee now trades at 48.85 against the dollar.

Among the stocks that have seen a bit of volatility is Titan, which is down by 3.32 percent at Rs 206 as the pressure builds due to gold prices softening up.

Vijay Mallya has announced that Kingfisher Airlines will be exiting its low-cost operations, Kingfisher Red. The stock moved up to Rs 25.70from Rs 24.50 within minutes of the announcement. Now, however, the stock is trading at Rs 24.70, down 1.6%.

PG Electroplast, the newly listed IPO, plunged from Rs 537 to Rs 386 in 15 minutes. It works out to a loss of 28 percent in a matter of minutes.

The entire Anil Ambani Group is currently turning weaker. These stocks firmed up on Tuesday after a series of announcements were made by Anil Ambani on the future road map for the companies. Reliance Power and Reliance Communications are trading nearly 3 percent lower while Reliance Capital is down 5 percent.

JSW Steel is down by almost 6 percent at Rs 574.

12.30 a.m: European markets open lower by nearly 1 percent, but have recovered most of their opening trade losses. Indian bourses, too, have bounced back from their lows. The Sensex trades 68 points lower at 16,455 while the Nifty turns 25 points lower to 4,945.

Excel Corp is trading 20 percent higher after the Supreme Court allowed export of excess stocks of Endosulfan.

Aventis touches a new all-time at Rs 2,424. Bearing manufacturer SKF India has also touched a fresh high at Rs 699 per share.

Sugar companies like Bajaj Hindusthan, Dhampur Sugar and Balrampur Chini have all hit new yearly lows on Morgan Stanley report downgrading most of the companies of the sector. Downside risks to prices of the commodity in the international market have prompted them to downgrade the stocks. Along with this, higher sugar production in the domestic market and expectations of higher cane support prices in coming months will have an impact on the companies’ margin, says the report.

The much-awaited Morgan Stanley report on emerging market weightage has been released. India continues to be ‘Underweight’ in the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital Index) ranking. It has, however, reduced risk wieghtage of India by 65 basis points to 185 from the 250 earlier.

Tata Motors, meanwhile, continues to trade at Rs 155.20, down 0.5 percent, on account of the adverse Singur judgment.

11.30 a.m: Markets have slipped, in line with their Asian peers. The Sensex has tumbled 140 points to 16,383 while the Nifty is down 41 points at 4,929.

Ranbaxy is witnessing heavy buying and currently trades at Rs 498. The stock has moved up Rs 12 in the last five minutes.

Tata Motors, which has been hit by the Singur judgment, has fallen from a high of Rs 159.70 to Rs 153.85.

Among the other stocks that have fallen are JP Associates, which is down 4 percent at Rs 70.50, and Reliance Capital, down by 3.14 percent at Rs 382.15. JSW Steel has also turned weaker by nearly 4 percent and trades at Rs 585.

JP Morgan has reiterated its ‘Overweight’ rating on Power Grid, marginally increasing its price target to Rs 116. The stock currently trades at Rs 96. The rationale for the upgrade is the company has a negative correlation with bond yields. With interest rate cycle likely to peak, Power Grid will benefit from it.

This apart, the news report mentions that the new CMD (Chairman and Managing Director), RN Nayak, is aggressive on grid addition, which is missing in the current fiscal.

Macquarie, in its report on two wheelers, said that competition is hotting up in the sector, which is prompting the broking firm to maintain its ‘Underperform’ rating on Hero MotoCorp and ‘Neutral’ on Bajaj Auto.

10.30 a.m: Markets continue to trade range-bound with the Sensex hovering at 16,514, down 9 points, and the Nifty lower by 6 points at 4,965.

The big news that is coming in at this point is the Calcutta High Court has upheld the Singur Land Rehabilitation Act, in what is seen as a victory for Mamata Banerjee. The verdict has come as a big setback for the Tatas, which had challenged the constitutional validity of the legislation. Predictably, the Tata Motors stock is down after the HC order, which slipped to Rs 156 from Rs 160, down 0.5%.

IT sector is trading 2 percent higher on account of a good set of numbers posted by Accenture. Infosys is trading 2.6 percent higher at Rs 2,506 while TCS is at Rs 1,054, up by 1.4 percent. Metal and capital goods stocks are trading 1 percent lower.

9.30 a.m: The cautious mood in the Asian market is reflected on Indian stock exchanges. BSE Sensex is trading flat at 16,522, barely 1.5 points lower than the previous day. Nifty trades 8 points lower at 4,957.

Indian software companies are all buoyed up by a strong outlook from Accenture. Infosys trades 3.4 percent higher at Rs 2,527 while TCS is at Rs 1,058 over 1.5 percent above previous day’s close.

JSW Steel tumbles nearly 3.7 percent to Rs 588 on account of downgrades from various brokers and supply constraints of iron ore.

[caption id=“attachment_94254” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Indian software companies are all buoyed up by a strong outlook from Accenture. Reuters”] [/caption]

Glenmark, which received an approval for launching a generic version of migraine drug in the US, opened higher, but currently trades near the low of the day at Rs 322.20, down 0.7 percent over the previous close.

A no objection certificate (NoC) from ONGC for its deal with Vedanta has worked for Cairn India, which rises 2.25 percent to Rs 286.25.

Arvind Limited has scaled a new yearly high of Rs 101.40, tough cotton prices have been on the rise due to a drought in Texas and floods in Pakistan. Arvind, a major exporter of garments, will benefit from the current depreciation of the rupee.

Asian markets are also trading flat with an average positive movement of 0.2 percent. Brent crude has fallen nearly 1 percent. Rupee trades at 49.11 against the dollar while gold and silver are trading 0.3 percent lower in international markets.